9.6.12

The 10 sun commandments

The summer is coming and we all love to spend time outside. And while we are having fun, most of us forget that we are exposing ourselves to one of the most underestimated dangers nowadays: The sun.

How so? Well, let me explain;

Doesn’t it startle you that the ink of a document disappears
when exposed in the sun for too long? You never wondered about a curtain that
has been hanging in the window for a long time, and the sun bleached the color
out over the years?

If the sun has the power to do that, what do you think will
it do to your skin?

Obviously, you won’t see it now, but realize later, when
it’s too late.

Unprotected sun exposure is the number one factor for
premature skin aging. The sun will damage your skin tissue, dry it out and
reduce the natural collagen cells. And if you didn’t know it yet; yes, that
leads to wrinkles and age spots, except you are not going to be 70 when you get
them, but 40 or younger.

The more frequent you expose yourself to the sun, the more
likely and the earlier it will happen to you. Especially if you had a lot of
sunburns over the time.

Oh you will look fabulous until you are, lets say 35, but
one day your skin is just tired of repairing and forgiving your stupid
mistakes. And then? Then you will regret, my dear.

Have you ever seen a really sunburned skin? I have. Believe
me, Barcelona is a horror house for me right now. Also skin cancer is an issue not to be ignored for much longer, in the next 10 years the number of skin cancer patients will be the double...

Already the red color of sunburn should be a warning sign
for you, I mean, the skin is BURNED, what more do you need to realize that the
sun isn’t our friend, it’s harming us!

But don’t despair, help is arriving:

In order to save our skin (and souls) one must follow the 10
sun commandments:

1.Thou shalt always treat thy skin as thy most precious having!

We only have this one skin, and while your body can renew it for a lot of years, medical technology still can't repair it perfectly. If it's damaged, it's for good.

2. Thou shalt always put sunscreen on thy face, decollete and hands!

If you want to keep them young, do it every
single day. (A lot of face lotions contain SPF nowadays, without being sticky)

3.Thou shalt always avoid the sun between 12.00
and 15.00 o’clock!

Stay inside or in a shady place and if you
have to go out, cover yourself with a hat and light clothes or carry a parasol
with you.

4.Thou shalt not desire thy neighbor’s suntan!

If you are a natural pale type you
will never
get tanned anyway. You are only going to harm your skin by trying to get
as tanned as others. Might as well preserve your noble paleness and age
naturally.

5. Thou shalt always start the summer season with
SPF 50!

After a couple of weeks you can go down to
30. I personally don’t see the use of SPF under
30.

6.Thou shalt always put on sunscreen regularly,
everywhere and use a lot! Also after swimming and rubbing yourself with a
towel. Ask your friends to do places you can’t reach! Nowadays sunscreen is
light, transparent, hardly sticky, and with immediate effect, so there really
is no excuse for not wearing it.

7.Thou shalt not think that thou won’t get tanned by wearing sunscreen! Sunscreen is only protecting your skin against UV rays, it doesn't block the ability to get tanned. Also you don’t have to lie flat like a stranded
whale to get tanned, moving around provides a more healthy and equal tan.

8.Thou shalt not stay hours and hours in the sun!
2-3 hours a day is more than enough to get a nice tan. You don’t have to fry
yourself in the sun, especially in the beginning, you should start with 20
minutes everyday until your skin gets used to the sun.

9.Thou shalt not ignore the lightest shade of red on
your skin!

Get out of the sun, I mean it! The red will
only get deeper with time, and the longer you stay in the sun the worse the
burn will get. If you feel you get a sunburn and there is no
shadow in reach, put on light clothes or put a scarf around the exposed area, fabrics
also provide SPF.

10.Thou
shalt always hydrate!

If you got a sunburn you should hydrate from
inside as well as from outside. Drink a lot of water, stay away from alcohol. Put
on cooling and hydrating lotions, there are some good “after-sun” products on
the market. Stay inside until your skin has either turned tanned or white
again. Don’t go into the sun with a sunburn! This will damage your skin very
badly.

And last, but not least:

11.Thou
shalt always let your skin recover!

After a summer full of sun, you should let
your skin rest for at least a couple of month without direct sun exposure.